Friday, 28 August 2015

Motivation in blogging

Now, before you all read this and either congratulate me or
hiss at me for my awesome productivity skills, I would like to add that they
are all in my drafts and not one of them is completed.

I have over 30 posts in my notepad that I should write up
(If you want some of them then I am happy to share them out)

Yet I sit here now feeling very lethargic and unmotivated; I
have felt like this for weeks.

I know that all of us go through a bit of a blogging drought
and the irony here is that daily I think of two or more posts to write, for me
it is motivation more than ideas.

I am blaming this on four things:

1. The Summer Holidays

2. Linkys

3. Negativity

4. My Mental Health

These summer holidays have sucked. I think that we will all
be in the agreement that the weather has definitely put a dampener to some of
our plans. I still have had the boys, we have still gone out and taken part in
activities, yet far from what have wanted, and subsequently the posts that I
have wanted to write about have gone a miss. What hasn’t helped within this is
that the sunnier days have been when the boys have been with their Mum. We have
also been pretty slack with Home Ed, it hasn’t been pushed within our routine
as it normally would be.

I love a Linky, I often join up to quite a few Linkys each
week. I also completely see the irony of me saying that Linkys are a problem
when I have just posted this on a Linky that I host! Let me explain though:

Linkys are fabulous but within them comes a certain
criteria. If for example you link up to one of my favourites like Wicked
Wednesdays you are looking to link up a post where your child has been a little
angelic pain in the bum and we all rejoice in the fact that we are not alone
within this aspect of our parenting. What happens though if, for whatever
reason, your child/ren haven’t actually done anything Wicked?

The Big Fat Linky too, I feel, has certain restrictions. I won’t,
for example, link up posts that surround Home Schooling; which is difficult at
times because primarily I am a Home Schooling blogger. Home Schooling is a
unique and a personal lifestyle choice and one that I am aware of through
previously linked posts and comments, that people don’t know how to respond to.
The same would go for my regular food and cooking posts. Ultimately these
topics fit better within other specified linkys rather than a general one,
especially as a host.

The last part to the Linky point comes down to my Mental
Health. I am currently struggling with it and am in a “funk” yet I know that
this, again, is selective and not everyone will understand or want to
constantly read depressing posts.

This then leaves few topics to actually cover and write
about.

These last few weeks I have received a fair bit of
negativity regarding my blog and posts. I know we all get it from time to time
and we, as bloggers, develop a certain level of thick skin, yet sometimes the
excessive lengths others can go to, especially fellows bloggers, is quite
extreme. Subsequently through this you can have an underlying thought of what
to write without reaching negativity.

Finally my mental health, as stated above, has been flaring
and to be quite honest, I am fed up with it. I therefore don’t want to write
posts about it. I understand that there are people who would write it and use blogging
as a form of therapy but there is also an amount where you go “Enough is enough,
you’re depressing yourself now” and I don’t want to cross that line.

What is great though is that I know we all go through these
stages in our blogging world. I have seen four conversations spread over
different bloggers groups where people have spoken about the fact that they are
in a blogging slump; actually a lot of the time it appears to be for reason
like I have listed.

Blogging for me is a hobby. It is a place where I document
what I do as a dad for the boys. It can be home school, days out, family life,
important topics that I feel like I need to cover with them and finally, a
glimpse for them to have an insight into their dads world and thoughts.

I think it is important then that we acknowledge those
moments where we feel a little restricted in what we write and what we publish.
It grounds us and helps promote us to do more and know where we are coming from
when writing.

A drought is only a drought because we recognise that it had
rained previously and from that we should remember that it will rain again. Especially
if we know anything about British Weather!

So what do you think?

Do you have moments where you find it difficult to find
topics to write about?

Have you experienced a drought and then come back from it?
How did you?

I am a creature of habit. I worry that if I didn't keep to my daily posting schedule I'd get lazy and hardly ever post. I definitely have days where I'm low on ideas. As I only blog about my baby this is usually a good reflection that I haven't spent enough time with him to get inspired. Good luck getting out of your funk!

Hi Martyn, thanks for sharing another honest post. I completely agree it's hard to get motivated to write - if I didn't have a group of blog buddies to help me be accountable and make sure I post each week I think it would slip pretty easily... Hope the autumn is much better than the summer for you! #BigFatLinky

I've had a lazy week Martyn too. Just wrote stuff that wasn't as good and having a week off next week when away with work. YOu have these times and you have a lot on. Take a breather and have a think.Sure in that time your mojo will come back a little. Good luck xx #bigfatlinky

I think we all definitely have these moments Martyn but I've never had 30 drafted posts! I have a few but not much! I always tend to write as it happens and sometimes nothing happens and I have nothing to write about! Then I start trying to think of stuff but my brain is blank and I start worrying! Then something happens and I'm back in the game again! It's hard sometimes to keep it going. Hope your get your mojo back! Thanks for hosting #bigfatlinky

I think, and this may be controversial but, you should write what you want for you, not others. If you think writing will help your mental state then I'd say do it! Thanks for hosting #bigfatlinkyBecky

I agree with the comments above - don't worry about what you link up. This linky is very varied and I think it is great that there is no limit on the content. I personally don't write for linkies. I look at the content I have just written and see where I can link it up. For example, If I have a funny picture one week then I will link to Wicked Wednesday. If I don't I won't. I find this keeps me from getting stuck in a rut. Good luck #binkylinky

It must be very frustrating having ideas for posts but not having the motivation to actually write them. I'm lucky in that most of my main linkys I join are general ones or are ones where I specifically write a weekly post but one I would write anyway if there wasn't a linky. I find for me, the best way to stay motivated is to have a schedule and stick to it. I hate the idea of missing a day posting, because in all honesty, I'm scared if I missed a day, it would become habit and it would become hard to get back into it. Thanks for hosting the #bigfatlinkyDebbie

I agree with where you are coming from, i think of loads of topics, but putting them into words becomes the hard part, as I am knackered at the moment, and when M has gone to bed all I want to do it just chill out not sit down and write! Keep your chin up though..your blog is great! :-)

The weather is terrible & definitely doesn't help anyone's mood. Sorry to hear you are in a funk. In terms of linkys, if you don't have something to add just don't join in. I don't write things in order to join a linky, if a post fits then good if not, I skip that week. And for this linky, as host you should be able to share whatever you want. I'd be interested in reading about home schooling. I read a post a few weeks ago about it & I was half ready to keep my kids home & teach them myself! It'd be nice to hear about your days. If you can't write about what's happening with you in daily life, then it'd be too much of a struggle to come up with something. Trying to come up with something just doesn't work. I write about whatever's happening - with zero consistency lol Good luck, you will get your mojo back soon!! Thanks for hosting #bigfatlinky

Just this past week I went through something similar with blogging. Summer here in New England hasn't been the greatest with all the rain and I've started blogging over the summer, which left me not spending enough time with my kids. I started getting the mom guilt, then the "funk" came about blogging in general and I decided to take a few days off from blogging. We do go through this. I have tons of ideas and have written several blog posts on my computer before publishing them but finishing them and even editing them has been trying. My kids start school next week (Thank God) so hopefully, I will be back on track. thanks for sharing. Visiting from #thebigfatlinkyoftheweek

I have felt like this for the majority of the summer. By the time I have finished doing everything I have to do at the end of the day, I'm exhausted. My blogging has really suffered lately :( It's nice to know that even fab bloggers like you go through things like this from time to time. #BigFatLinky

I always assumed we could link up any topic to the big fat linky... I don't like to write posts just to link up...my problem is finding the health to link up... by the time i've written a post I feel too unwell to link up. it;s something I want to do and to me it's an important part of blogging but I do find it hard at times and i recently cut down to only the linkys i really do love! Hope you feel more motivated soon!

I understand what you are going through as I also have a heap of unfinished posts at the moment. Some are unfinished because I am working, so keep getting interupted, some because I am tired, some because I have got derailed and out of the habit of writing and it's hard to get back in. I also struggle sometimes because I have so much other stuff going on in my life that I am finding it hard to concentrate in anything, so sometimes just end up playing solitaire on my iPad, getting nothing done 😔One of my problems is that I have so many ideas for blog posts, hundreds of them, that I keep getting distracted.I do think you should stop worrying about trying to second guess what people will want to read and respond to.I love the linkys because there is such a wide range of posts to choose from and I love reading about new stuff, and learning something that I didn't know before, or thinking about something I had never thought about before.I don't have kids of my own, and am not a teacher but I really enjoy your home schooling posts.....just because they are interesting and make me think.I write specifically about under 6 month old babies, and my posts are often educational rather than personal, but I post what is interesting to me and get a wide range of comments from people with very different blogs. Just relax and enjoy writing for yourself and trust that human curiosity will lead people to read it and enjoy.Sarah x

I go through stages of being really inspired and seeing the "bloggable" in everything, and then stages where I write much less, either due to time constraints or having other things on my mind. I like to keep my blog light-hearted and amusing and I have to be in a certain frame of mind to write those sorts of posts. I admire the fact that you have so many ideas for posts though and so many in drafts. It sounds as though you are certainly not lacking in inspiration!

Hey Martyn, I always have tons of unfinished posts too. Sometimes they get finished. Sometimes they are for my eyes only and either is fine. I agree, there are topics and personal issues I'm not ready to put out in the blogging sphere and that's the great thing about having our own website - we have control over it. Like a few others have said, I'd be interested in hearing more about the home schooling. Sometimes you just never know what will capture people's interest. Just keep it real and from the heart. All the best #bigfatlinky

Sorry to hear that you're feeling like this Martyn and that you've received some negativity. I have just started a linky and I think linkys, just like any other regular post, do put a lot of added pressure on which can in turn make you want to step away from it. I often go through phases where I start a post but just don't feel that it is right or can't finish it, it then sits in my drafts until I feel inspired to finish it. I hope you feel better in yourself soon.

Sorry to hear you're feeling low. I have days when I literally have no inspiration and I find the best way to deal with it is to not beat myself up about it and go and do something else. Hope you feel better soon! #bigfatlinky

I'm still in the stage where my motivation is high, but I'm sure the day will come where I hit a slump. Guilt over the amount of time I'm spending on the computer will probably be part of it, but as my kids start school and nursery hopefully that won't be so much of an issue. Also regarding not linking up homeschooling posts, bear in mind that just because people may not know what to say in the comments, this does not mean that they don't find the post interesting or worth reading. Sometimes coming up with interesting and valuable comments can be extremely hard, even when the post itself is fascinating, and while just posting a generic-sounding 'Wow, I found this really interesting' looks really crappy, SOMETIMES IT'S TRUE but they just can't think of anything to say. One think I love about linkys is the variety of different posts to read. #bigfatlinky

Hey Martyn', another interesting post and as you know I know where your coming from. I have stated a few posts recently they are in the drafts but I am just not feeling it again they are back to old school Sen issues etc that I found made me feel worse. You know in your heart when it's right and I love the home school and the baking posts. Also the weather has been awful and effected us all in more ways than one xxx

I often have moments where i'm demotivated to blog.I think its easy to get caught up and confused as to the reason you blog. Personally I try not to stress about stats and how often I post and remmber I blog to get the words out and everything else doesn't matter.So you have 6 part written blog posts. When you're ready you'll have 6 great blog posts...but only when ready.

It's a shame to know you're feeling low Martyn, I really hope things brighten up soon and I'm not just talking about the weather! I'm having a bit of a blogging drought at the moment too, more because I have my hands so full with everything here at home, but I'm really trying to persevere with it. It might help to take a week off and forget about the blog, and then come back nice and fresh? Try not to stress about those 30 posts in drafts xx #bigfatlinky

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